Setting the Scene in Your Story

A Re-write

When taking a class or reading almost any book on writing, you are likely to hear the phrase, “show don’t tell.” Let’s take a minute and show an example of what that means in a story. Read these two sentences:

“Adam sipped his latte and looked out on the empty 5^th Avenue bus as it slowly trudged down the gray, rain-soaked street. A single customer raked her flip-flops on the doormat taking the empty table along the window.”

What do we know about this story? Let’s pick it apart. We know:

1. The setting is in a city. Most small towns don’t have a 5^th Avenue.

2. Further, bigger cities have buses, not little towns.

3. It may be a weekend because the bus is empty, or it could be late evening.

4. It’s raining. The atmosphere outside is gray and the streets are wet.

5. It is probably summertime because the customer is wearing flip flops.

6. The coffee shop is relatively empty because a prime table at the window was available.

The writer didn’t have to “tell” you anything. The scene said it all, and setup the story from there.

Comment down below your thoughts!

See you on the next one,

Rick Glaze